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Analysis of MRSA-attributed costs of hospitalized patients in Germany

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Abstract

Infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are assumed to have a high economic impact due to increased hygienic measures and prolonged hospital length of stay. However, surveys on the real expenditure for the prevention and treatment of MRSA are scarce, in particular with regard to the German Diagnosis-Related Groups (G-DRG) payment system. The aim of our study is to empirically assess the additional cost for MRSA management measures and to identify the main cost drivers in the whole process from the hospital’s point of view. We conducted a one-year retrospective analysis of MRSA-positive cases in a German university hospital and determined the cost of hygienic measures, laboratory costs, and opportunity costs due to isolation time and extended lengths of stay. A total of 182 cases were included in the analysis. The mean length of hospital stay was 22.75 days and the mean time in isolation was 17.08 days, respectively. Overall, the calculated MRSA-attributable costs were € 8,673.04 per case, with opportunity costs making up, by far, the largest share (77.45 %). Our study provides a detailed up-to-date analysis of MRSA-attributed costs in a hospital. It allows a current comparison to previous studies worldwide. Moreover, it offers the prerequisites to investigate the adequate reimbursement of MRSA burden in the DRG payment system and to assess the efficiency of targeted hygienic measures in the prevention of MRSA.

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Acknowledgments

We thank S. Ryll, H. Leesch, S. Kroeger, and Dr. K. Schulz for their help in collecting the data.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests. This study is integrated in the model project Health, Innovative Care and Regional Economy (HICARE), Health Region Baltic Sea Coast, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Health Care Management, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    C. Hübner, K. Hopert & S. Flessa

  2. Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Health, University Medicine of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    N.-O. Hübner & S. Maletzki

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  1. C. Hübner
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  2. N.-O. Hübner
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  3. K. Hopert
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  4. S. Maletzki
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  5. S. Flessa
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Correspondence to C. Hübner.

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Hübner, C., Hübner, NO., Hopert, K. et al. Analysis of MRSA-attributed costs of hospitalized patients in Germany. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 33, 1817–1822 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2131-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2131-x

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